After a yearlong string of victories nationwide, the campaign for gay marriage hit an unexpected snag Wednesday when the New Hampshire House rejected a bill that also included legal protections for religious institutions.

The House voted down the legislation 188-186, shortly after the Senate approved the bill 14-10 on a party-line vote. Both Democrat-led chambers had approved a same-sex marriage bill and sent it earlier this month to the governor for his signature.

But Gov. John Lynch sent it back, asking the legislature to include language that would protect churches and other religious institutions from prosecution if, for example, they refuse to perform same-sex marriages. "If the legislature passes this language, I will sign the same-sex marriage bill into law. If the legislature doesn't pass these provisions, I will veto it," Mr. Lynch, a Democrat, said in his May 15 statement.

Despite the vote, the same-sex marriage issue remains in play in New Hampshire. The Senate's passage means the legislation now goes back to a conference committee, where lawmakers will attempt to resolve differences between the two chambers.

there are a lot of churches who want to be able to marry teh gheys but cannot legally. if the state is going to be involved in marriage then it has to be inclusive. the state should have nothing to do with this, it should be up to the churches especially since the biggest talking point against gay marriage uses the fact that marriage and civil union are effectively the same thing.

My stance is any religious institution should be able to deny marriage to anyone that their particular religion prohibits marrying. But, in doing so, churches should lose their tax exempt status because clearly they are not interested in serving all of the community.